1 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: What motivates you to practice?
Any advice on how to find a legit teacher? I live in Maryland and I have not been able to find a Zen Center that regularly holds sesshin and Dokusan. I have joined Meido Moore’s Patreon and I’m going to one of his beginner retreats in April. I also have talked to Kokyo Henkel a bit and he said he’d be glad to work with me if I come out to the west coast but he advised me to really find a main teacher closer to me.
Comment by Skylark7 at 21/01/2025 at 02:58 UTC*
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
If you want Rinzai I don't know of anything in the Baltimore or DC area. "Zen Center" is a bit of a misnomer. Real estate is crazy expensive so Zen groups tend to meet in churches. Sesshins are also a problem cost-wise, which is why you're not seeing a lot of them.
There are WPA Soto sanghas, all with legit teachers. Janet Jinne Richardson Roshi started Clare Sangha in Baltimore and transmitted to teachers who have scattered around the area.
Joyful Mind Zen Community in Rockville holds sesshins and the teachers offer dokusan. https://www.joyfulmindzendo.org/[1][2] Clare Sangha out of Baltimore holds sesshin on the Eastern Shore, and their teachers work with students. https://claresangha.org/[3][4] One Heart Sangha the other person mentioned offers regular sits, zazenkai, and dokusan but they are further south over the DC border. https://www.silverspringzendo.org/[5][6] There's a WPA Zen group starting up in Annapolis now too, Harbor Light Zen.
1: https://www.joyfulmindzendo.org/
2: https://www.joyfulmindzendo.org/
5: https://www.silverspringzendo.org/
6: https://www.silverspringzendo.org/
If you're up towards Bel Air or Aberdeen, Red Rose Sangha in Lancaster is another WPA group who meets in person though I don't know about sesshin. Sangetsu Sensei came out of Clare Sangha. http://redrosesangha.org/index.php/about/[7][8] They probably join Clare or Joyful Mind for sesshin.
7: http://redrosesangha.org/index.php/about/
8: http://redrosesangha.org/index.php/about/
Eastern Shore or Western Maryland you're kinda screwed.
Comment by Comfortable-Rise7201 at 17/01/2025 at 18:32 UTC*
1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
One of the closest I could find was All Beings Zen[1] in DC (Suzuki's lineage - soto), which also hosts a good number of virtual events, but I don't know what that commute would look like. Inryu-sensei has been a great teacher for me though, and I think it might be worth exploring if nothing else! (I live in NoVa).
Another Zen center is also One Heart Sangha[2] in Silver Spring MD (White Plum Asanga - also soto), but I'm not sure which would be closer.